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The virally received Lifetime docu-series Surviving R. Kelly has apparently served as inspiration for Columbus Shortto open up about some personal struggles he has never publicly divulged to the world.

The former Scandal star recently took to Instagram to reveal that, like Kelly, he was molested as a child.

“So, I was just talking to a friend of mine, and you know, this R. Kelly stuff is really affecting people in a lot of different ways,” he said in the video. “I had to pull over because I got a little [emotional]; because, I found out R. Kelly was molested by his sister.”

After reaffirming that this fact does not, in any way, justify Kelly’s actions in regards to him allegedly sexually assaulting and preying on young women, Short made the heartbreaking revelation.

“I was molested by my babysitter, and she, she would make me do things that were really uncomfortable,” he continued. “I was scared to speak out, but I’m not scared anymore.”

The actor then shared that he hopes the docu-series and his confession will spark more conversations around the topic of sexual abuse.

“I think it’s time in our community,” he said. “The only way to heal it is to speak on it. I’m a talented man that was touched. It [affected] me in ways I can’t even explain.”

He captioned the post, “It’s time to speak out. It’s a lot of us. But it’s not how we start it’s how we FINISH… #LetsChangeTogether #PrayingForRKelly.”

Short’s comments come days after he took to social media to publicly share that he has joined the #MuteRKelly movement.